Pogo stick



July 5, 1955 H. H. Hol-IBERGER POGO STICK Filed Sept. 6,' 1952 Ft.. L. l

United States Patent ce 2712443 Patented July 5, 1955 ins such as phenol-formaldehyde resins. The plastic material should be selected on the basis of its hardness and toughness and it, of course, should not be a brittle plastic. 2,712,443 The body member portions 123 are each molded .with complementary cavities 22 therein so that when jointed PSG() STICK together a plurality of weight reducing openings 24 are c, formed in the bod' member 12. At the lower ends the Harry H'hmbsger Chlcagg gli portions l are mblded to provide the two halves of a Application September 6, i952, Serial No. 308,262 spring housing 26, the axis of which is on the axis of lh. 27 5,7 10 the body member l2. At its upper end the spring hous- 4 C 11mg (CL 2'- ing 26 communicates with a guide bore 23 which receives and guides the upper end of a plunger rod 30. The juncture between the spring housing 26 and the guide bore 2S is formed with a counterbore 32 to receive a The present invention relates to improvements in pogo l5 guide bearing 34. The lower end of the spring housing sticl-:s and is primarily concerned with a new and im- 2o is similarly formed with a Counterbore 36 to receive proved pogo stick having constructional features tending a bearing 3S. Preferably the bearings 34 and 38 are to make its manufacture simple and low cost. sleeve bearings of the oil or lubricant impregnated type. lt is, therefore, the principal object oi the present inrihe bearing 33 is retained in the counterbore 36 by a vention to provide a new and improved pogo stiel; hav- 2O shoulder 49 which defines opening 42 through which the ing parts of the body or upright member so constructed plunger rod 39 projects. The bearings 34 and 3S are and arranged as to be simple to fabricate and to assemble, P'GVidd Wih circumferential fins or flanges 37 which Angthgr Object js t0 prgvde g new and improved pgg-Q St ll'l annular gOOVeS 39 i@ 1`Sil`l1 l' bearings against stick which is extremely sturdy in its construction and lOllgilUdnal mvement. which, therefore, will give its users many more hours of A main biasing spring 44 is retained in the spring houspleagu@ than thgse hereQfOl-v made and S31@l lng 25 between 2l Shoulder .25 plGVldCCl by the Counter- Another Object i5 to pmvigfe a new and improved pogo bore 32 and tl e endl of the bearing 34 and a retaining stick having the upright or body member made from a member washer 4S which may be staked or otherwise pair of identical parts having complementar;l mating faces SeCUred t0 the Pllllge Tod 30 A Smaller lighter Spring secured together. ln furtherance of this objective it is 59 iS feined bv'eel die lmdefside 0f die fainng contemplated that the body member should be made of W25 @I 4S and a Shoulder 52 PYOVded DY die COUHGT- a moldable material such as a thermosetting or a thermobof@ and the m and 0f the Sieefe bdafl'dg 33 The plastic synthetic resin and that the two parts of the body Spring 5'@ iS a Shock absorbing Spil! and CUShiOIlS the member might then be made in the same mold or mold action 0f the Sllbsaniauy Sironge Spring 4d as ii PFO- cavity. 35 jects the plunger 3l) outwardly upon release of the load. A furhef Object is to provide a new and improved in orer that the cavities forming the counterbores 32 pogo stick in which the biasing spring is completely enand 35, Spring housing Z6 add guide bOfe 23 b Properly closed, protecting it from dirt and protecting the user mated, 'die bOd'Y POFOD hab/SS is ae PYOVidBd With a against accidents* number of short longitudinally extending complementary Other objects and advantages will become apparent dlgdes 54 and gl'OGVCS 56, 3S Seed Fig 5- S Pfefrom the following description taiien in conjunction with fefffd that ibase tongues and glOOVeS be fO`IHCl at the the accgmpanyng dran/ing vghefein: fl/ell) PQYlOl'lS W'l'llCl'l delll'le th@ UEPI "dnd lOWBI' Fig. l is an elevational View of the new and improved 0f the Weight reducing Openil'g 2ddrrd the Upper end pogo'sick of the pregen nvemion; of the guide bore 2S. There thus would beat least four Fig. 2 is an enlarged medial longitudinal sectional View 4:3 0f these Pairs 0f tongue and gfOOV' dffaD'meDS iR the and may be considered as being taken substantially along particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in the the line 2 2 of Fig. l looking in the direction of the drawing The nelocked tongues 54' and gTOOVeS 55 arrows; prevent any longitudinal or transverse movement of the Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal cross-sectional View Portions lg relative i0 each Othertaken along the line 3 3 of Fig, l looking in the direc- 5: lt will be observed from Figs. 1 and 2 that the outer tion of the arrows; surface of the body member 12 tapers and is substantially Fig. 4 is a bottom enlarged cross-sectional view taken dCke at its lower edd than at S Upper @11d- B addialong the line 4 4 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the no n t0 enhancing the aPPealC 0f die POgO Stick 10 arrows; and this taper provides a function which is utilized in adding Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail cross sectional view taken 5U Sfngth 'l0 the del/ic@ When the deViCe iS assembled along the line 5 5 of Fig. l looking in the dimmen of ann the two body portion halves 18 are brought together the arrows and showing how the two body members and preferably secured by means of a cement or a solvent halves are joined ogehe. which softens and reacts with the plastic material of the The pogo stick, indicated generally by the reference body mffmbefs 1n @der t0 bond them DO a Unit, a recharacter lll, comprises an upright body member 12, a Gi) almng Hlg 5 1S S11Pped @Ver the @Per @Ud and iS pushed plunger portion 14 which is adapted to reciprocate reladown on the Joined body members 18 until ii C311 be tive to the body membe, and a foot rest or Step 15 ad moved no furthert Thus the wedging action of the ring jacent the bottom or thebody member 12 and upon which w with the tapering Outef Surface 0f the body member the user stands when exercising with the pogo stick in 18 mmes that these PTODS Will be held ogethf the Wen known mannen Thls taper is also utilized in securing the foot rest 16 The body member 12 comprises a pair of identical in position. The foot rest 16 preferably is a lightweight pieces 3 havingl Qompjememary mating faces 2Q It is casting and comprises a sleeve 62, the bore 64 of which preferred that the body member halves 18 may be of a has a taper Complementary t0 d1@ Taper Of d'1@ lOWel' end inoldable plastic material; and the following plastics'have 0f d1@ bGdY member 12- A P31'r 0f diameficauy OPPOS@ been found to be acceptable: acrylic resins such as methyl OOt feSS 01 Steps 66 Project SdeWafdlY 0f the Sleeve methacrylate; cellulose acetate butyrate; cellulose acetate; polyester resins; illed melamine resins; and phenolic resportion 62 at the upper edge thereof and are additionally joined to the sleeve by reinforcing webs 68 on their under- Vor otherwise permanently secured together.

sides. It is clear that when the device is assembled the sleeve 62 is wedged against the tapered body portion to hold these parts together in the same manner as the retaining ring 60.

The lower end of the plunger rod 30 is fitted with a rubber or like material Vtip 70 to prevent damage to the rod and also to minimize the amount of noise the pogo stick makes when used.

ln manufacture, the body portion halves 18 might be t formed in the same mold cavity or in a mold having a number of cavities so that these halves are identical and and have the complementary mating faces 2t). The springs 44 and 50 are slipped onto the rod 30 on opposite sides of the retaining washer or shoulder 4S and then the bearings 34 and 38 are slipped onto the rod at the outer ends of the springs. This assembly is compressed until the bearings 34 and 38 can be inserted into the open portions of the counterbores 32 and 36, respectively, in one of the halves 1S. The other half 18 is then placed over the assembly of the iirst half and rod, springs and bearings, thus enclosing the springs and the bearings. As noted above, the body halves 18 are preferably cemented The assembly of the pogo stick is completed by sliding the foot rest 16 and the retaining sleeve 60 over the body portion 12 from the upper end, as seen in Fig. l, wedging these parts down until they may not be moved farther downwardly. lt should be noted, of course, that as the pogo stick is used the downward force on the foot rest 16 is resisted by the complementary tapers of the body portion and the sleeve bore 64 which increases the wedging n action. It is clear, therefore, that the assembly of this pogo stick is relatively simple and that its manufacture is, therefore, of very low cost.

Another feature of the pogo stick is embodied in the completely enclosed springs 44 and 50 which cannot catch the clothing or fingers or feet of the child using the pogo stick.

While a preferred embodiment of the pogo stick constituting this invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent that numerous modifications and variations thereof may be made without departing from th'e underlying principles,A of the invention. It is, therefore, desired by the following claims to include within the scopeV of the invention all such variations and modilications by which substantially the results of this invention may be obtained through the use of substantially the same or equivalent means.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

l. A pogo stick comprising a body member composed of a pair of Videntical halves joined together along complementary mating faces, said mating faces being formed with interlocking tongues and grooves to prevent longitudinal movement between said halves, said body mem- 1 ber having a generally tapering outer surface so as to be larger at its lower end than at its upper end, said'body member being formed with an axial spring housing in its lower end and having an aperture in its lower end openingV into said housing, a plunger slidably projecting through said aperture and into said housing, cooperating means on said plunger and in said housing limiting the outward movement of said plunger, a spring confined within said housing and biasing said plunger outwardly, and a foot rest having a sleeve portion formed with an internal taper complementary to the taper of said body member encircling said body member adjacent its lower end to clamp said body halves together and to locate said foot rest on said body member.

2. A pogo stick comprising a body member having a generally tapering outer surface so as to be larger at its lower end than at its upper end, said body member having an axial'cavity at its lower end and having an aper- Y ing against said flange to bias said rod outwardly, and a second spring in said cavity confined between said shoulder and said ange and arranged in opposition to said first spring to cushion the end of the outward movement of said rod.

3. A pogo stick comprising a body member composed of a pair of identical halves joined together along complementary mating faces, said mating faces being formed with interlocking tongues and grooves to prevent longitudinal movement between said halves, said body member having a generally tapering outer surface so as to be larger at its lower end than at its upper end, said body member being formed with an axial spring housing in its lower end and having an aperture in its lower end opening into said housing, said aperture having an areasmaller than the cross-sectional area of said spring housing to provide a first shoulder within said cavity and around said aperture, an axial guide bore in said body member opening into said housing opposite said aperture and forming a second shoulder within ,said housing around said last-named opening, a rod slidably projecting through said aperture and said housing and into said guide bore, said rod having a circumferential flange thereon of an area greater than that of said aperture to limit the outward movement of said rod, a spring confined between said ange and said second shoulder within said housing and biasing said rod outwardly, and a foot rest having a sleeve portion formed with an internal taper complementary to the taper of said body member at its lower end to clamp said body halves together and to mount said foot rest on said body member. Y

4. A pogo stick comprising a body member composed of a pair of identical halves joined together along complementary mating faces, said mating faces'being formed with interlocking tongues and grooves to prevent longitudinal movement between said halves, said body member having a generally tapering outer surface so as to be larger at its lower end than at its upperV end, said body member having an axial spring housing in its lower end and having an aperture in its lower end opening into said housing, said aperture having an area smaller than the Y cross-sectional area of said spring housing to provide a iirst shoulder within said cavity and around saidr aperture, an axial guide bore in said body member opening into said housing opposite said aperture and forming a second shoulder within said housing around said last named opening, a rod slidably projecting through said aperture and said housing and into said guideY bore, bearing means supporting said rod for sliding movement located at opposite ends of said housing, said rod havinga circumferential ange thereon of an area greater thanthat of said aperture to limit the outward movement Vof said rod, a spring coniined between said iiange and said second shoulder within said housing and biasing said rod outwardly, and means including a foot rest having an internally tapered sleeve portion encircling said body member adjacent its lower end to clamp said body member halves together.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,499,483 Foy Mar. 7, 1950 FOREIGNl PATENTS i 182,882 GreatV Britain `uly 6, 1922 

